The A6M2 was the best naval fighter in the world during 1941/42. It had good speed, spectacular maneuverability, was fairly heavily armed, and had incredible range. This was due to its light-weight construction as much as anything else. This worked very well, at least for a while. But to get that incredible performance, something had to be sacrificed. That was armor protection for the pilot and for the fuel tanks. Those deficiencies were eventually cured, but far too late in the war to be truly meaningful. Still, the Zero was the scourge of the skies for the first portion of the war.

THE KIT

This is not a new kit, being initially released in 1973 and reissued a number of times since then. This is the 2007 release. Despite its age, the level of detail is quite good with a nicely done cockpit that includes a floor piece with raised detail consoles and other small boxes built in. A rear bulkhead takes the seat while the instrument panel piece has gun butt shapes molded in. Rudder pedals are molded into the floor. There is a pilot figure to fit into the seat.

The interior can be fitted from underneath after mating the fuselage halves. Wings are a single lower piece with upper halves and there are aileron balances. The engine is two generic 7 cylinder pieces with no pushrods and a prop gear box. No polycaps for this one, but a prop shaft that fits between the two engine cylinder pieces.

Landing gear legs trap the wheels between them and the gear doors. The inner gear doors, tail gear, and tail hook are separate. There is a two piece fuel tank for the centerline. You can also build this gear up and pieced are provided for that option. The engine cowling can be built with cowl flaps open or closed and you get a choice of open or closed canopy. The prop has the spinner built in with a separate backing plate.

Instructions are well done with generic paint information along with Tamiya numbers. I'd think twice about some of the color information as I'm sure the cockpit was not Aotake but Mitsubishi interior green. Five markings options are provided. The first three are in the overall amber grey or grey-green shade (whichever you think is more accurate). These are AI-101 from the Akagi in december 1941, X-183 from the 3rd Kokutai based in the Celebes in early 1942, and V-103 of the Tainan Kokutai on Bali in early 1942. With green uppers is 253-1-2 of the 253rd Kokutai at Rabaoul in January 1944 and -110 of the 261st Kokutai at Kagoshima AB in early 1944. The last two also have the yellow leading edge ID markings. Decals are very nicely printed and should work just fine. There are lots of aftermarket for the A6M2 in case none of these meets your fancy.

CONCLUSIONS

While somewhat eclipsed by newer toolings, this one is still well worth building even if it isn't quite as detailed. Best of all it is inexpensive and I'm sure will make into a very nice model for your shelves.

Kit instructions

March 2026

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